The building rises — bronze and "brooding," in the words of architect David Adjaye — floating in a sea of white marble and limestone on the sprawling National Mall in Washington, D.C.The mission of the National Museum of African American History and Culture — set to open to the public next week after a 100-year journey into existence — is to tell the story of America through the lens of black history and culture.That mission is reflected in the exhibits and encapsulated in a Langston Hughes quote featured inside the museum: "I, too, am America."It's also reflected in the location and design of the building itself.The 400,000-square-foot museum fills the last open spot along the National Mall, the magisterial public walk envisioned by Pierre Charles L'Enfant in 1791 as a place for all Americans, a landscape celebrating the country's democracy.Sitting adjacent to the Washington Monument, the museum is on an axis with nearly every important memorial and museum in the city. And that
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